Gideon
Gideon is the westernmost country in Siladia as well as the progenitor of human civilization in the region. It has played a role in many of the events that shape the continent. Overview Gideon is mostly comprised of sparsely populated farmland and verdant hills, with a prominent maritime market in the south near the Sapphire Sea. The river that separates Gideon from the Omoron Dominion and Korth is called the Righteous River, and it is the largest river in Siladia. The current government in Gideon is a monarchy, originally established by the Brighton family, and currently ruled by House Valmont, their distant cousins. There are ten lordly families in Gideon under the King, and a number of lesser lords and hedge knights that serve under them as well. The population of Gideon is about 400,000, with about 1% of that being of a noble class. The people are largely humble farmers, worshipping Pelor, but the southern district of the country does have a healthy economy and the best shipping trade in the realm. The country is also home to the headquarters for the Church of Pelor throughout the realm as well as the religion's High Priest. History Originally, the continent was entirely inhabited by goblins and other monstrous creatures. When Alek Brighton founded it, the human cleared out an area to farm on the hill land east of the mountains. There they established Dawn's Edge, and named the continent Siladia, which meant a "new hope" in draconic. After a few years, they grew prosperous and branched out. House Byron and House Drake set up their own holds and House Terminus ventured east to explore, and eventually establish Omoron. It was at this point that they decided to name the country Gideon. Life was prosperous for a while and the human civilizations grew. Years later, Erik Brighton decided to tour the surrounding land in an event that was called Erik's Expansion. His court castillian (Fontaine), treasurer (Shelton), and mage (Crawford) were each given a hold the size of House Byron and House Drake's to expand upon, and a number of smaller holdfasts as well. The Great War Eventually, the Brighton line ran dry, and Alarik the Pink left only female heirs. His best friend Dannis LeMort stood to inherit the throne after his passing. After this occured, it became clear that Dannis had cruel intentions. Almost overnight, the entire demeanor of Dawn's Edge changed. About a month after ascending to the thrown, he called his banners to prepare for war. Though some resisted, many in the realm were thrilled to have such a strong leader and spoiling for a fight after years of serving under a soft monarch. House Drake was the first to show support for a war effort, standing true to their family's motto. House Byron was next, with moral objections to the war, but under pressure to uphold their oath and not be outdone by the other houses. After that it was House Thorne, and the whole realm was practically in on it. Their target: the Omoron Dominion. Emporer Dannis LeMort (as he was now styling himself) claimed that since House Terminus were originally knights of Gideon, they had no right to branch off and start their own country (despite the action taking place hundreds of years ago and the matter being completely authorized by the previous Brighton kings). He claimed this gave him the right to the Omoron lands. An invasion was mounted on the Great Plains, and soon it was full fledged war. It would later be revealed that all of this had been in the works for decades before the first sword was swung in battle. As a child, Dannis was incredibly frustrated with his families noble status. His ambitions were so large that they cried out across the realm. They were heard by the demoness Shaktiri. Together, they devised a plan for him to gain his power. It was Shaktiri who told Dannis to befriend the younger weak willed Brighton, instead of the older more assertive child. It was Shaktiri who later poisoned him and made it appear that he came down with illness. It was Shaktiri in cahoots with Dannis and his cousin who ensured that the line would not have a male heir through dark sorcery (its like, they just cast the polymorph spell). What did Shaktiri get out of it? War. Chaos on the material plane, which allowed her to bring forth hordes of demons to augment his army without anyone taking much notice. (Note: under the distractions of war she was also able to pursue her ulterior agenda of searching for the apotheosis book, a venture that would be unsuccessful as the Demogorgon had learned of her plans and beat her to the punch. This would be remedied years later.) However, once the demons were discovered in the Gideon army... it was a different story. After two thirds of Omoron and a third of Korth were conquered by LeMort, Commissar Bishop Terminus realized that the only way he was going to defend his ancestral homeland was to fight fire with fire. Terminus made a pact with the Pit Fiend Kurnaz, to exchange his soul for secret legionnaires of devils to fight the demons. The devils were not only capable combatants, but they were more clever than Terminus. They were able to force the demons into revealing what they were in combat, while maintaining their own secret. Once the Lords of Gideon learned that their soldiers were being augmented by hordes form the Abyss, they turned on the Emperor. The Black Dragon was so blinded with power, he hadn't even considered that his own vassals would question him. House Byron was the first to change sides, and soon Gideon was in the midst of a civil war (with House Drake, Thorne, and Crawford remaining loyal to the crown). Around 970 AF (date change needed), a party of adventurers stormed the castle and slew the Black Dragon of Gideon, who was said to have now gone completely mad with the influence of the Abyss. They found most of the inhabitants of the castle butchered savagely, including Dannis' wife, his cousin Rhea, and Alarik's two other daughters. Despite a decree of mercy from the adventurers and House Byron, who had taken charge during the interim, the common folk uprooted all remaining LeMorts from their holdfast in Silverfell and hung them publicly in the square as a form of protest against the war. It is said that none escaped. The only legacy that remained from Dannis LeMort's ambitions, as well as the Brighton line, was "the Curse of the Dragon". The Faustian War After the Great War the realm demanded reparations from Gideon. However, leeway was given due to their own lords turning the tide and helping to fight the battle. Before any of this could be resolved, however, Bishop Terminus drunk on his power invaded Korth beginning his war of conquest. Gideon was the only country to remain neutral during the conflict, though it did send a band of adventurers to protect Neverith and eventually lent aid to Omoron in the form of mercenaries. After such a great defeat, Gideon was easy pickings. Bishop Terminus knew he could leave them to be conquered last. Likewise, Lord Byron (ruling in the interim) realized the need to bolster their forces for such an even. The Korth Rebellion During the rebellion in Korth the Lords of Gideon held a conclave in Dawn's Edge and took a vote to decide whether or not to get involved. They voted no in a 6 - 4 margin. The vote was at a draw, until Lyman Fontaine switched sides, ending the matter. On the way home from the conclave, his caravan was swept up in a flood, and him and his wife killed. Many speculated that foul play was involved and that their deaths were revenge for their behavior during the conclave. Hawthorne's Rebellion Shortly after the Mertieul rebellion, Lord Hawthorne of Warmount Heights in Omoron, fueled by anger of the death of his brother and father, approached King Mikal Valmont during his daughter's birthday celebration and the announcement of his bethrothal. Lord Hawthorne said that they have evidence the Mertieuls were hiding out in Summerhill and asked for permission to ransack the town to find him. King Valmont refused, and Lord Hawthorne sacked Summerhill anyway. Prince Joseph Valmont was sent with a band of nights to approach King Kruger in Omoron to answer for his lord's actions. King Kruger renounced Lord Hawthorne's lands and titles, starting a full fledged rebellion. During the rebellion, Lord Willem Drake of Drake's reach took a retinue of 3000 men from Gideon and turned on the King. Lord Drake was a war hawk, pushing for involvement with the Mertieul situation from the beginning at the conclave. Jealous that lowly House Valmont was selected to rule before him after the Brighton line's passing, he had made a deal with Lord Hawthorne to give him Gideon's support in the war in return for being made King after it was over. The current King, Mikal Valmont, had no choice but to comply and allow Lord Drake to command his troops, as his daughter had been kidnapped during the raid on Summerhill by Sedic. Having been destroyed by grief at the loss of both his wives and his infant son before, King Valmont could not bear to go through more pain at yet another death of a family member. Lord Hawthorn's forces were eventually defeated and Lord Drake killed. Unfortunately, the Valmont daughter was killed by Sedic as well. This created an estranged relationship between the King, who was now descending into madness, and his son Joseph, who had attempted to rescue the girl against the King's wishes. It may have been this descent, or the King's unwillingness to act, that led to him being assassinated (he was really assassinated by Teo-Dahr on the order of Mind Flayers, why no one knows). After that, Joseph rose to sit on the Radiant Throne. His uncle Brandis Drake, a loyalist to the crown, was placed in charge of Drake's Reach and the house was otherwise pardoned for their actions. Joseph Valmont currently rules the country and all is well. Constituent Regions Dawn's Edge (Capital) ruled by House Valmont Lion's Vale ruled by House Byron Drake's Reach ruled by House Drake Thistlewood ruled by House Thorne The Seavault ruled by House Shelton Summerhill ruled by The Knights of Summer Grey Haven ruled by House Fontaine Nord ruled by House Tilpanz Winward Isles ruled by House Crawford Serenity Valley ruled by House Sparrow Brighton ruled by House Orion DM Notes An appropriate analogy between Gideon and Omoron is comparing them to Rohan and Gondor. One is just open land with a humble people while the other is more civilized, populated, but also more corrupt. Much of Gideon's culture is based on medieval England.